Biden nominates first assistant defense secretary for cyber policy
Michael Sulmeyer, shown here at a 2018 House hearing, is the Biden administration's pick to lead cyber policy at the Pentagon. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
The position was created to address concerns about missing civilian leadership in the Pentagon’s cyber policy space.
President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated Michael Sulmeyer to be assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy at the Pentagon, the first individual to hold the position.
Sulmeyer currently serves as the principal cyber advisor to the secretary of the Army, advising the secretary on cyber readiness and strategy matters.
The FY2023 defense policy bill required that the presidentially appointed cyber policy position be created amid concerns that the Pentagon wasn’t focused enough on tapping a civilian lead to focus on such policy.
Sulmeyer previously served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council and Cyber Command, according to the White House.
He was also the director of the Cybersecurity Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and has teaching and fellowship experience with the University of Texas School of Law and Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.